Personal Narrative: A Long Life

Improved Essays
We all want to live a long life and many do whatever they can to prolong their lives as much as possible. However, there are costs for longevity: Alzheimer 's, physical health problems, and financial restrictions to name just a few. The list goes on. To me, what has become one of the toughest results is losing others. Whether it be friend, family, or just an acquaintance, it 's never easy.
Today is the birthday of one of my best friends, Dan Watson. Dan was a good husband, an Air Force vet, and one the best people ever to have at your back. This past June was five years since Dan left us and today would have been his 67th birthday. I still “share” at least one Gentleman Jack with Dan every Friday night to continue the tradition we started
…show more content…
Between his experiences in Viet Nam and life in general, Gary wasn’t always dealt the best hand. But he was always ready to fight back and take on life as well as any of us can.
Gary was always searching for that “next big thing.” When a comic book about Viet Nam came out in the 80’s, Gary purchased multiple copies of all editions to save and eventually sell to collectors. I’m not sure if they were ever sold off. He had a habit of collecting things with thoughts of investment that didn’t always pan out. He was also an inveterate poet and bumper sticker slogan writer. I don’t know how many slogans I received over the years with Gary proclaiming, “This is the one!” The one he could sell and make some “real money” as he would say.
Though estranged from his son when I first met him, they did reconcile somewhat in later years. Gary was very proud of his son’s accomplishments as a successful businessman and his daughter-in-law, who is becoming a pediatric doctor. When we last spoke, he was also excited about his new granddaughter who has now been joined by a grandson. Gary also spoke often about the “women in his life,” his wife and granddaughter, and how much they meant to him. And, of course, there were The Dogs, the dachshunds that he and his wife

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    He was the middle of 3 sons and grew up in a middle class neighborhood in town outside Seattle called SeaTac. He was a dutiful son and close to his mother. His father was a bus driver who often complained about prostitutes on his route. Gary was a chronic bed wetter into his late teens and has said he remembers his mother would often bathe him when she found out. He said she would also humiliate him in front of family and friends.…

    • 1501 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Biography Of Jim Rackley

    • 268 Words
    • 2 Pages

    My granddad, Jim Rackley, is a smart, determined, and successful man. He is a leader in his family, his work, and his community. No matter what he does, he gives it his all. The pictures provided depict the way in which I think of him.…

    • 268 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Living in a small Appalachian town in Kentucky, has exposed me to many obstacles I have had to overcome to get where I am today. I am an honor student, a certified nursing assistant, and a Robinson Leader. I am also enrolled as a freshman at Maysville Community and Technical College while still being enrolled at Menifee County High as a senior. I rise to the top of many of my classes although I am usually the youngest. Getting to where I am today was not easy.…

    • 516 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Every Life Matters I really only started understanding the meaning of abortion once one of my mom’s friends had one. Before that I had very little knowledge about abortion. My parents have always taught me to stand by what I believe and that others may have different beliefs. They always told me that I would meet people that would disagree with me and what I believe not only when it came to these kind of topics but many other things as well. Being told that, they told me to always respect people’s beliefs and their points of view because everyone has the right to stand by what they believe, just like I do.…

    • 506 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “Deeper Into my Life” Individuals are unique in their own ways and one of mine happens to be my name, Darrnyejah Bolds. Everywhere I go people have a hard time pronouncing it. Many people have given up and just refer to me as “Ms. Bolds,” but also I have two nicknames “Nye”, and “Nyejah,” which is mostly used by family and friends. Over the years, I have adjusted to my nicknames and became very comfortable with them. I entered this world on February 27, 1997 with the zodiac sign of Pisces.…

    • 706 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Gary Ridgway is one of America’s most prominent serial killers. He killed for 18 years, until physical evidence was able to link him to murder. Over those years here was picked up for other crimes and released. It is because of him and other killers that America must become better at finding physical evidence. Gary was born in 1949, he is the middle child of three boys.…

    • 461 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    2014 and 2015 were my fleeting lifespan's worst years. No major, life-or-death events happened. I just have felt so very alone even amongst friends and family. I can't bring myself to talk to anyone about what I'm feeling, this whole bundle of negative emotions constantly accumulating inside me. Talking to people about what I feel just makes me feel selfish, knowing how others are suffering more so.…

    • 184 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In today's society the average person goes through high school, then repeats the cycle through college, gets their degree and goes out into the “real world”. They meet someone, have a family and move out to the suburbs. That is the path that most americans take throughout their long journey in life. Contradictory to that some of the wealthiest people took the risk of taking their own path and profited very well from it. “Have the courage to follow your own heart and intuition” (Steve Jobs).…

    • 302 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    On December 14, 1945, Paul VanSteenbergen, my uncle, boarded a troop carrying liberty ship. He went inside and placed his standard issue backpack on his cot and then returned to the top deck to wave goodbye to his family and friends, who were waiting in the wooden pier below. Men leaned over railings, climbed on lifeboats, and perched midway up the masts to catch a last glimpse of their families. Now, at age eighty­nine he retells the story in his Guilford home.…

    • 1768 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    My Grandpa, Gary Hardin My grandpa, Gary Hardin, is one of the military veterans in my life who I am close to and likes to tell stories of the past. He was drafted for the army young and missed the birth of his first child. The hardest thing about being in the military, according to him, was being away from his family. My grandfather is still a big family man with a loving heart.…

    • 1312 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I think in life we all look back and think to ourselves, did I do or say the right thing in that situation? I believe life is full of choices and everyone makes some mistakes, and that’s okay. We are all human and our lives won’t end simply because we screw up a few times. In life, many people are looking for happiness, power, money, and everything else in between. I am trying to improve myself every day, appreciate the little things, work through the hard times, and I believe that will allow me to have “the good life.”…

    • 637 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    George Pope was a great man. He was my biggest influence growing up, and he taught me that I had to work hard for everything I want. He believed that nothing in life came easy or free. He spent his whole life earning everything he had. When he was a kid he did several random jobs, whatever he could do to earn money to contribute to his family.…

    • 506 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A Life-Changing Epiphany “Speak for the silent, stand for the broken.” These eight words modified how I distinguished myself personally and how I regarded other individuals. Secluded from the world, I lived as a ghost in my own life. Hearing Mike Smith’s speech at a leadership conference revised my understanding of life. Life isn’t about technology or social standing, life is about understanding that each person matters and deserves to be noticed.…

    • 457 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Suicide Informative Essay

    • 1337 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Everyone knows that death is inevitable. It is the circle of life. Most people hope to live up to their 80’s at least, some maybe even older. However, there are some who may not want that at all. These people may be struggling to want to live a life at all.…

    • 1337 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    My Grandparents Interview

    • 1084 Words
    • 4 Pages

    What is the one thing that has shaped your life more than any other aspect? Today I was able to interview both Gary and Caroline Wardle who are my Grandparents. I went through their life stages, events that have impacted their life and then went into the way they like to be lead and how things have changed since they where little. I was able to connect with them more after this interview and connect both the readings and the research I have done on the Traditionalist generation so far.…

    • 1084 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays